Meet Emma Disney, Transport Operator

Emma works with TJ’s Bristol-based team of drivers, ensuring they are on track with their workloads and in the right place at the right time. Outside of work, Emma enjoys walks with her bulldog Marley and is busy planning lots of campervan trips for when campsites reopen.

What does your role involve?

It’s a varied role and one that revolves around organising the drivers and their movements. I’m responsible for booking in jobs and scheduling them into drivers’ workloads; I make sure that the drivers are doing what they are supposed to be doing and that they’re in the right place at the right time.

If a job gets cancelled or postponed, I liaise with the driver to reroute them onto another task to ensure their time is being well-used. I also have to log all the drivers’ hours to monitor that they are sticking to the tacho rules. Myself and Kevin (Commercial and Operations Supervisor) work together to keep everything on track logistically to ensure the smooth running of the Bristol base.

What is your career background?

I’ve done many different roles over the years and this is actually my first office job! I started my career by completing aeronautical training aged 19 and went on to become an aircraft avionics maintenance engineer. I worked in the aircraft industry for 13 years until I decided that after having two sons, I wanted a job that was closer to home.

So I retrained in healthcare and got a job within social services and later on, the NHS, working as a mental health professional. It was a demanding job, but I wanted to help those struggling with their mental health and in need of extra support, and it was very rewarding.

In 2016, I decided to move away from healthcare and went into the transport industry as a transport operator. My next role was in HGV fleet management, looking after the lorries themselves, organising MOTs, services and sorting out breakdowns. Then I saw this transport role at TJ and it piqued my interest!

What are the most rewarding parts of the role?

I enjoy liaising with the drivers and assisting them in any way I can. I like being the person that they come to for help and I work hard to ensure that I always provide a solution. It’s also nice to be part of a family business; it’s been great to see how well TJ has done over the past year, despite the challenges the pandemic has presented.

What are your aims for 2021?

I simply want to contribute to the on-going success of TJ’s Bristol branch and help it to continue to thrive and do well.

What do you like most about working for TJ?

I feel truly valued working here, I know I’m not just a number. Everyone gets on really well and has a lot of respect for one another, which makes working as a team a pleasure. The directors are all really approachable and down to earth so you can be yourself around them and it’s clear that they have their employee’s best interests at heart. What can I say – it’s just nice to come to work!

Meet more TJ team members and find out more about the services we offer and the work we do.